Chapter 38 Domineering torpedo

The assault formation did not have a single aircraft carrier. Originally, a small aircraft carrier "Langley" was expected to be incorporated. It was the first aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy. It was converted into a seaplane carrier in 1937 and could carry more than 30 P-40 "Tomahawk" fighter jets at one time. .It should be said that such an aircraft carrier was outdated before the outbreak of World War II, but it is better than nothing. It is a pity that "Langley" was sunk by Japanese aircraft during a voyage, which caused the assault formation to lose the necessary air cover and fell into almost the same predicament as the "Z" fleet.

Durman is well aware of the principle of "aviation wins". Aircraft can not only be used to cover the fleet, but also assist the fleet in reconnaissance and combat.Now that the aircraft carrier has been lost, he can only count on the air force to help. Although the command system has been adjusted, due to the hasty time, the new organization still has the disadvantages of the joint command, that is, insufficient coordination of the navy and air force.Durman asked the U.S. Air Force for support, and the U.S. commanders agreed, but the Joint Air Force Command in Bandung wanted to let the U.S. aircraft perform another mission, and Durman's idea fell through again.

On the afternoon of February 27, 1942, a Dutch plane discovered the traces of the Japanese convoy. Durman immediately ordered his flagship to turn, and led the assault formation to head towards the convoy. After receiving the reconnaissance signal, the flagship can respond quickly in such a short period of time without any delay, which is rare in naval military operations, which shows Durman's response and decision-making ability. When the Japanese reconnaissance plane reported that the Allied assault formation was approaching, Imamura was taken aback, as was the fleet commander Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi, who was in charge of escorting Imamura.

Takagi has served in the submarine force for 13 years, so he has more say in submarine combat technology.However, Takagi and Dolman were unable to fight what they were best at at this time. Dolman knew how to use airplanes but didn't have one. Takagi was familiar with submarines, but there were no submarines in his fleet. The 16th Army needed to disembark from different landing points, and the escort ships could not be fully concentrated. In a hurry, Takagi tried his best to gather the troops for the battle, and assembled a total of 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 14 destroyers.

The assault formation consists of 2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, and 9 destroyers. From the perspective of the number of ships, the Takagi fleet clearly has an advantage. In addition, Takagi can continue to send planes to investigate, but the Allied forces have no Several aircraft could provide reconnaissance for Durman. Before the Dutch planes spotted the Japanese fleet, Durman had been plagued by weak reconnaissance and communication capabilities. The assault formation cruised back and forth, and the officers and soldiers were extremely tired. In Durman's words, the endurance had reached its limit and would soon be exceeded. up.

However, the morale of the members of the assault formation has always been very high.When they set sail from port, most knew that they would face a desperate battle, but no one did not board the ship on time. Before meeting with the Takagi Fleet, the Japanese planes bombarded the assault formation first, and Durman sent an order to open the formation.After avoiding the attack of the Japanese plane, he rejoined the ship and asked the fighter plane to cover him again, but he still did not get a response. At 4 pm on February 27, 1942, the lead ship of the assault formation encountered the Takagi Fleet, and the two sides exchanged fire. The Java Sea Battle broke out in such a narrow way.

Takagi was the first to shine, and he adopted the T-shaped tactics.To put it simply, it is to turn all your ships horizontally at the first time, forming a right angle with the enemy fleet, so that you are horizontal and I am vertical. Horizontally, the broadside firepower of each battleship is not wasted; vertically, only the lead ship can fight, and the battleships behind are so anxious that their blood vessels burst that they can't get in - when they can get in, the lead ship in front will also It's over. Before Takagi's shape was fully displayed, Durman had already seen through it.He quickly changed course, trying to close the distance between the two fleets so that his ships could also be useful.

During the hand-to-hand combat, the Japanese planes hovered over the assault formation, sending intelligence to the Japanese ships to help them make firing corrections. In contrast, the assault formation could not get this advantage, and the Allied ships had to use the gap between the ship battles to fire on the aircraft, but the effect was not great. In addition to borrowing a lot of power from the aircraft, Takagi also has a unique weapon, that is, the oxygen-powered torpedo, which the West calls the "spear" torpedo. The "Spear" torpedo was independently developed by Japan before World War II. It can be regarded as the culmination of the world's torpedo technology development history. Japanese experts believe that its technology is 20 years ahead of the West. "Spear" has a lot of amazing data, "long" is its first advantage. For example, when sailing at low speed, its range can reach 40,000 meters, while the range of the general British and American torpedoes is only 8,000 meters. It can be said that, This distance has exceeded the range of the main guns of the battleships of various countries at that time.

If you launch a torpedo at an enemy ship, the enemy ship can of course evade it, but the track of the "spear" is very small, making it difficult for the opponent to detect. The "spear" is not only "long", but also strong enough.Its charge is close to half a ton, how many ships can eat half a ton of explosives? The Japanese regard the "spear" torpedo as a national treasure and call it the blue killer.What the Takagi Fleet is equipped with is the killer of killers, the most basic and main model of the "spear" torpedo-the Type 93 high-explosive torpedo.

At that time, the Allied forces did not know anything about the "spear", especially the torpedo's long range. When the ship was hit by a torpedo, some captains thought they were fighting with a submarine. Several depth charges were fired. This was a confrontation of great disparity in strength, but both sides fought desperately. Two destroyers of the Takagi fleet were damaged, and two destroyers of the assault formation were sunk. More importantly, the cyan killer has disrupted the assault formation. formation.